City may have violated Open Meetings Act

The release of closed session minutes by the Pekin City Council has revealed either a clerical error or a possible violation of the Illinois Open Meetings Act.

The release of closed session minutes by the Pekin City Council has revealed either a clerical error or a possible violation of the Illinois Open Meetings Act.

On Monday, the Pekin City Council released closed session minutes from meetings dating back to Feb. 13, 2006, that it has deemed no longer confidential.

At the April 29, 2007, meeting of the council, members went into closed session to discuss “the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance or dismissal of a specific employee of the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee to determine its validity,” an instance in which the Open Meetings Act allows for a closed session.

At that time, Mayor Frank Mackaman was in charge.

The closed session minutes from April 29 say, “Council unanimously agreed to extending the current contract an additional two years and increasing the salary of the (city) manager to $105,000.”

According to minutes from the open portion of the April 29 meeting, the council did not come out of closed session and vote on City Manager Dennis Kief’s contract. Subsequent meeting minutes from the following month’s meeting also did not reveal a vote on the matter from April 29.

Council members at that meeting were Mackaman, Jim Jones, Tom Blanchard and Bill Maddox. Corporate counsel Burt Dancey attended the meeting as well.

The Illinois Open Meetings Act is designed to protect citizens against governing bodies performing government business behind closed doors.

“The taking of final action at any closed meeting is prohibited,” according to the Illinois Open Meetings Act. “A public body must disclose to the public the substance of any final action which is being taken, whether that substance has been discussed in an open or closed meeting. Final action taken at a closed meeting may be voided by a court. There can be no secret ballots at public meetings.”

The act says that exceptions to the Open Meetings Act are “limited in number and very specific.” The Act says that under the six main headings for exemptions, “It is important to emphasize that not all matters or meetings that might fall under the scope of the general headings are exempt – only those within the scope of a specific exception. All exceptions to the act are to be strictly construed.”

Mackaman said he is “puzzled” that there is no record of an open meeting vote on the contract extension and raise. He said he did not have the institutional experience when he was appointed mayor that most mayors would have.

“If that’s what happened it would have been inadvertent,” said Mackaman. “I can’t say if the minutes are wrong or if it was an oversight.”

Kief said he did receive the contract extension and raise. He said typically the council agrees on such matters in closed session and then comes out and formally votes after the closed session or at a subsequent meeting.

“I am almost 100 percent sure it was voted on (in open session),” said Kief.

Closed session minutes released after the installation of Mayor David Tebben show votes only to approve closed session minutes. Illinois Press Association attorney Don Craven said that is allowed under the Open Meetings Act.

When asked about the votes of the previous council in closed session, Tebben said, “That’s a violation,” (of the Open Meetings Act), when referring to Kief’s contract.

Tebben said when he was previously mayor and the city manager was Dick Hierstein all contracts for him had to be approved in open session.

Craven said that if the council did not come out of closed session and vote on the contract extension and the pay raise, Kief’s contract extension and pay raise were never approved. He said the contract would have to be approved as an open session item.

Illinois Attorney General Public Access Counselor Terry Mutchler said through AG spokesman Scott Mulford after seeing excerpts of the closed session minutes that she will review the matter and speak with city officials to determine if the Open Meetings Act was violated.

This is the first release of closed session meetings by a city council since May 2007, according to McMillan. The Open Meeting Act requires that all closed session minutes be reviewed every six months and those no longer considered sensitive material should be released.

Dancey said he will review the minutes of the meetings in question, review Kief’s contract and talk with Mackaman in an effort to determine what happened.